This one is a pretty tangled web, of one commentator attempting to berate some bigots while ignoring the bigotry he endorses himself.

First, lets start with the easy part of this mess. Buffalo News reporter Rod Watson takes shots at some organizers of a Kwanzaa celebration, who refused to allow White reporters to cover the event.

He goes on to give them a verbal lashing for being exclusive based on race. While I agree that news coverage should not be based on race, we also know that Kwanzaa is a “holiday” that is inherently racially exclusive. One could even make the case that they were being more “true” to the principles of Kwanzaa, given the first principle of “Unity” is intended only for Blacks. The bigots behind the decision to exclude White journalists stand by their decision, while some other Kwanzaa organizers disagree. So I guess it depends on if someone wants to be “PC” with their Kwanzaa event, or do it the way the founding father of Kwanzaa intended .

While the commentator noticed bigotry in one form, he missed his own expression of bigotry in this statement from his write-up:

The commentator is against excluding journalist based on race (being one himself), but he fully endorses Blacks doing trade with people on the basis of skin color. I’m sorry Mr. Watson, but you can’t have it both ways. You can’t attack bigots for excluding Whites, while endorsing trade on the basis of race.

While much hype is made of Blacks potentially doing better if they would only do business with each other, proven methods for individuals to succeed in America do not require any racial exclusion at all. I think economist Walter E. Williams has shown proven methods for anyone to do well in America in his piece How not to be poor. He also throws water on the claims that the “poor get poorer” in his piece The poverty hype. Regardless of race, people who follow simple proven steps to improve their condition usually succeed. Every Black I’ve ever known that did not (or does not) do well in life ended up in that position because of their own failure to follow the simple steps to success. And usually if you speak with them individually about their own circumstance, they will admit their own personal failure. In a personal conversation they won’t blame “racism”, if you actually get into details about what they failed to do themselves. (Lets keep in mind that some folks don’t want much. And I respect that choice for those who decide that is good for their life.)

Still like phases of the moon, there are Blacks that come along claiming to have the “fix” for all that ails Blacks. They write books, make holidays, write-up plans and so on. Usually those plans result in the founder of the plan getting money themselves. If not, they still do well for themselves in the process of selling their “plan”. And their plans all too often are racially exclusive. While the proven methods for success for anyone are widely published and do not require any exclusion based on race. Aside from the material matters, the Christian faith offers spiritual healing that many “plans” ignore or intentionally avoid. It is odd that many Blacks acknowledge verses in the Bible that mention Jesus has “hair like wool” and “feet like brass”, but run to a holiday that ignores Christ. (See: Daniel 7:9, Daniel 10:6, Ezekiel 1:7, Revelation 1:14-15 and Revelation 2:18)

update (1/10/2006 4:43PM ET): Oh look, La Shawn Barber just made a post related to the latest “plan”. And this plan is SO BIG (254 pages) it will need to be put in yet another book. A book they are already taking pre-orders for and have the book signing tour all setup. Even if there are claims that this book’s proceeds go to a nobel cause, you can be sure that those behind it will be getting a nice piece of the cut. Walter Williams sums up how people can do better in 1 page, while Tavis Smiley has a Covenant with Black America book that will go on sale and is 254 pages. I’ve found the single page from Mr. Williams to be a proven success!